§1702 — Title 18 Crimes and Criminal Procedure | U.S. Code

Summary

Taking a letter, postal card, or package from a post office, an authorized mail drop, or from a mail carrier before it’s delivered to the person it’s addressed to — if done to stop the mail or to snoop on someone’s business or secrets — or opening, hiding, stealing, or destroying that mail is a crime. A person who does this can be fined, jailed for up to five years, or both.

Title 18, §1702

Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Whoever takes any letter, postal card, or package out of any post office or any authorized depository for mail matter, or from any letter or mail carrier, or which has been in any post office or authorized depository, or in the custody of any letter or mail carrier, before it has been delivered to the person to whom it was directed, with design to obstruct the correspondence, or to pry into the business or secrets of another, or opens, secretes, embezzles, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 317 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, § 194, 35 Stat. 1125; Feb. 25, 1925, ch. 318, 43 Stat. 977; Aug. 26, 1935, ch. 693, 49 Stat. 867; Aug. 7, 1939, ch. 557, 53 Stat. 1256). section 317 of said title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., was incorporated in this and section 1708 of this title. Minor changes were made in phraseology.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $2,000”.

§1702 Obstruction of Correspondence